At Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, our primary function is to promote an affordable, integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable land transport system. We have an important role in caring for the environment (people, places and planet) and we take this responsibility seriously.
Image: Waka Kotahi
In April 2020, we released our first sustainability action plan, Toitū Te Taiao [NZTA]. Toitū responds to four big challenges facing the land transport system and Aotearoa; reducing land transport greenhouse gas emissions, improving public health, reducing environmental harm and reducing our own corporate emissions. These challenges are a call to action for us all.
The ‘Lead by example’ workstream in Toitū Te Taiao sets out actions we’re taking to reduce our own corporate emissions. This workstream supports our commitment to be carbon neutral by 2025, as part of the Carbon Neutral Government Programme.
Growing our electric vehicle fleet and its usage is one of the activities we’re undertaking. A project is being undertaken to transition our Waka Kotahi vehicle fleet to electric where practical, starting with our pool vehicles.
The first phase in the project was transitioning our pool fleet to electric. More than half of the 69 vehicles were already electric and we have almost switched out the remaining petrol/diesel vehicles from this fleet.
The second phase involves around 100 vehicles that are dedicated to specific roles and teams. These vehicles are essentially offices for those who drive them so making the switch for this group creates different challenges the project group have needed to think about. A home charging pilot is being set up to work through how electric vehicles will work for this group. Once findings are known later this year, decisions of how we progress will be made.